In the context of its report for an “integrated approach to sport policy”, MEP Hannu Takkula invited last Tuesday, July 12, at the European Parliament, a number of European players in the field of sport. During the two-hour meeting, the Finnish MEP first took the floor to express his intentions and hopes behind the writing of this initiative report. He explained that the text would focus on the three main pillars of the integrity of sport (the fight against match-fixing, the fight against doping, the fight against racism and discrimination in sport), good governance (autonomy of sports, financing of sports clubs and organizations or transparency and fight against corruption) and accessibility (offering equal access to sport for people with disabilities, social inclusion through sport and gender equality).

This report intends to update the work of the MEP Santiago Fisas, who in 2011 produced the most complete European Parliament’s position on sports issues (link to report). Facing the recent excesses and the evolution of the sport sector, the report will propose new thinking and recognize the diverse contribution of sport governance that includes sports movement but also sports for all associations, private enterprises, individual practices and local authorities.

The stakeholders were then invited to take part in the debate by explaining their recommendations for this report. Among the sport stakeholders around the table, we mostly found sports organizations such as the European Olympic Committee or the UEFA, political institutions such as the European Commission or the Council of Europe, representatives of sports federations (International Equestrian Federation) or sports study centres (Play the Game).

Sport and Citizenship will try to balance this overrepresentation of traditional sport movements by promoting topics related to the societal impact of sport. In the forefront, the fight against physical inactivity, the promotion of gender equality in sport and the access to sport for people with disabilities.